"The good news is," the boy continued glibly, "I don't have to do a thing around here! Just have fun.
That's what he ordered me to do, anyway; have fun, don't poke my nose into politics or business, and stay out of his way."
Alaire wondered just how much to share with Kai.
At home, a prince did more than just "have fun."
Derek, the Crown Prince of Althea and the oldest of the brothers, took a personal interest in the affairs of the nation. After all, he would eventually be in charge of it. What better way to learn a job than to do it?
From the age of thirteen Derek had been in on coun- cil meetings, inspected the Palace Guard regularly, and in general kept abreast of everything going on.
Including, Alaire assumed, this little trip their father sent them on.
Alaire regarded the drunk lad before him, and found it difficult to imagine his caring about the affairs of Suinomen.
"Is that all you do?' Alaire asked. He seems to be in quite a talkative mood. Why not encourage it?
"Just about," Kai replied. Alaire eyed a marble bench nearby, considered moving closer to it, in Kai should need to sit down. "Father told me to stay out of his business, so I do. They don't let me do any- thing involving the kingdom, or the Guard. And nobody in the kingdom will have anything to do with me, except Captain Lyam and Sir Jehan."
Remember those names. They could be impor Alaire thought. Though it is starting to look like Kai might be a dead end for inside information, there is a lot of general information I could get from him.
Things the whole court knows, but we don't. For instance, why do they want to invade Althea?
"Well, Alaire," Kai said, slapping his shoulder. "How would you like to flee all this pompous nonsense and go see some real entertainment?"
Well.. . why not?
"Sure, Kai," Alaire said, cautiously. "But I really need to inform my Master that I'll be going, first."
"Oh, you'll do nothing of the sort," Kai said, good- naturedly. "You'll get us both into trouble and someone will probably stop us. I'll have one of the ser- vants tell him for us, after we're gone."
That didn't exactly sound like a good idea. "Well...
I don't know about this...."
But he had protested too late. "Come on," Kai said joyfully, grabbing Alaire by the wrist. "This place is getting boring anyway."
Reluctantly, Alaire let the boy lead him away. He had both bad and good feelings about this. Good, because he knew he would learn something about this bizarre kingdom. Bad, because he could tell by the feral gleam in Kai's eye that they would both be rump- deep in trouble when they got back.
Assuming they didn't get rump-deep in trouble long before they got back.
"Got your sword with you?" Kai asked as they dashed down stone stairs at the end of the balcony, into the chill night.
Chap Kai had obviously planned the deceptively hasty get- away in advance. A royal carriage, lamplit at the four corners, and gilded like a maidens jewel-casket, was waiting for them just inside the palace walls. Har- nessed to it were two large dieren, stomping and snorting, eager to get underway. But despite the fin- ery, which left no doubt as to which family it belonged to, it was obvious as they drew nearer that the carriage had seen better days. Somewhat dented and worn, from the number of scrapes, splintered places, and missing bits of trim, it had apparently clipped many trees and lampposts. When Alaire saw the driver, a grubby sort of servant, in dark, rumpled clothes, clutching a leather wine flask, he knew why it looked that way. The driver looked to be as drunk as Kai.
Maybe drunker.
"Don't worry about him," Kai said, waving casually at the driver, who ignored them both. "He can find the taverns blindfolded"